Cannot open hard drive

When i double-click anyone of my 2 partitions on my laptop, i get an error message saying "Windows cannot find 'resycled\boot.com'. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again. To search for a file, click the Start button, and then click Search."

I removed some malware prior to this.... it was saying something about resycled\boot.com not being a valid Win32 application and after removing some malware this started coming up, and my virus/spyware scans started coming up clean...

I can look into the drives by right clicking and choosing explore, but if i click open it says access denied and when i double click i get the error message above... please help!

Personally, I would run the System File Checker. Insert your XP CD and then at the command prompt (Start->Run; type in CMD and hit enter), type:

Code:

sfc /scannow

This will check the integrity of your system files and replace anything which is out of whack. If you have an error stating that your CD is the wrong disc, read this article from Microsoft to resolve the issue.

My guess:
> Your virus was one that worked by infecting the autorun.inf file on each disk.
> The virus writes the name of its executable into that file which was resycled\boot.com in the file
> Virus scan deleted the executable but NOT the autorun.inf files on both drives which get invoked immediately upon selecting the drive, and try to invoke the executable but windows says "notfound!"

You need to
1. Disable autorun for both drives
2. Change explorer settings to not hide ANY files (change back when you;re done)
-> From an explorer window, Tools->Folder Options->View
===> CheckShow hidden files and folders
===> Uncheck Hide protected operating system files
===> Uncheck Hide extensions for known file types
3. I don't remember if you need to reboot for autoplay change to take affect but you can reboot into safe mode (prompt only) to be safe
4. Now look for that autorun.inf file and delete on each drive and delete it!

My guess:
> Your virus was one that worked by infecting the autorun.inf file on each disk.
> The virus writes the name of its executable into that file which was resycled\boot.com in the file
> Virus scan deleted the executable but NOT the autorun.inf files on both drives which get invoked immediately upon selecting the drive, and try to invoke the executable but windows says "notfound!"

You need to
1. Disable autorun for both drives
2. Change explorer settings to not hide ANY files (change back when you;re done)
-> From an explorer window, Tools->Folder Options->View
===> CheckShow hidden files and folders
===> Uncheck Hide protected operating system files
===> Uncheck Hide extensions for known file types
3. I don't remember if you need to reboot for autoplay change to take affect but you can reboot into safe mode (prompt only) to be safe
4. Now look for that autorun.inf file and delete on each drive and delete it!

Click to expand...

okay so i did as you said, downloaded tweak UI, disabled autoplay on both drives, and the drives opened upon double clicking... and when i rebooted in safe mode w/ cmd it told me it could not find autorun.inf, so there was no deleting to do! 2 more questions though, is having autoplay disabled on my partitions bad in anyway? what does it do? and secondly, when i go to start and click turn off computer, it takes VERY long for the dialog box with restart, standby, and turn off to come up... anyway to get rid of that lag? Thanks SO much by the way

1. Autoplay is the feature for Windows to automatically respond when you insert media (e.g. insert a CD and your media player starts running or get a window to select your own choice of what to do)
2. So you can leave it off OR turn it back on once all is disinfected BUT

3. I think there must also be an infected autorun.inf file on your C: drive also (which why you see that message)
4. AND NOTE! If you have any flash or other read/write devices not currently plugged in they're probably still infected as well! I found a tool to help. Download and follow the prompts should take care of it

/* EDIT */
Will follow-up sometime later about lag to shutdown options... btw.. how much lag time would you guess? is typical i think up to 15 secs